Diaphragm-motor.



H. M. STEVENS.

DIAPHRAGM MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 11.53.18, 1909.

Patented Jan. 11,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. M. STEVENS.

DIAPHRAGM MOTOR.

APPLIGATION HLED-MAB-18, 190s.

945,992, Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wnesfses: TWQTWo'r OWC Harry Mievevn i@ w by y a may irs'rnvtsns,

poses, phragm which is capable of extended move` v` UNITED sTATEs PATENTOFFICE.

OF SCENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Diunamai-Moron. x

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAimYM. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States,residinv at Schenectady, count of Schenectady; itate of. New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Diaphragm-Motors, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to collapsible vessels having a flexible Wall ordiaphragm and more particularly to collapsible vessels suitable tor useas fluid pressure motors, iii which a difference in'pressure on theopposite sides of the diaphragm causes it to move and in which thetravel of the center of the diaphragm should be as great as possible.

In fluidpressure motors the motion of the diaphragm" is usuallytransmitted to thev parts to be actuated' by means of a rigid member orrod which isv secured to the diaphragm at thecenter and rendersthecentral part of the diaphragm unyieldin and inflexible. The greater thetravel o the cen. ter member the-greater must be the width of theyielding and flexible portion of the diaphragm between its edge and thecenter member, andl the use of fluid lunder high pressure for actuatingdiaphragme' havingpa great travel has heretofore been impracti- I cable,because the flexible and unsu ported portion of the diaphragm, if ma ewide enough to secure the desired travel, would bul 'e outJ` and breakunder a comparativelv ino erate pressure of the fluid inithe ve'sse Theob'ect of in invention. is to provide a' collapsible vesse suitable forfluid pressure motors, but useful. for many vother purand having aflexible wall or vdiamei'it andl which cannot be bulged out and brokenby theppressure of the fluid in thel vessel.

InIcarrying outfm invention, the diaphra is made flexib e and free toyield for a su cient distance from its ed e to secure therequired travelofthe centra portion of the' diaphragm andthe lexible portion isprotected from destruction by meansof diahra in supports` arran ed tosupport lthe exib e portionof the iaphragm at ever point in its travelinsuch a wa that hiv ressure cannot bulge out an exibl'e 'ortion of thedia lragmwhich is neverthe ess asfree to ben with the travel "of Atheldiaphragm'. as 'thougllli the v.supports raggi supports Specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed March 18, 1909. Serial No. 484,184.

` travel.

l the closed position. f, operating rod 3 and 'mountedon the, frame 5 bmeans of a pivot 9, is latched in the break tic.

A that the switch will. openupon. the occur- Patentea Jan. 11, 1910.

are referably in the form of rigidly mounted ugs which project inwardlyfrom the edge of the diaphragm like the teeth of an internal gear wheel,while the rigid member on the center of `the diaphragm has outwardlyprojecting lugs or teeth which tit loosely between the rigidly mountedlugs, all tlie lugs being shaped to permit the required travel of thediaphragm and at t lie same time to support it My invention will best beunderstood in connection with Jche accompanying drawings, whichillustrate one of the various forms in which`theI invention may beenibodied and in which Figure l is a view of a iluid pressure actuatingmechanism ifor operating an electric switch, with the lluid pressuremotor shown in section; Fig. 2 a view ofthe deviceishown in Fig. l withthe parts in the position'assumed by them when fluid under pressure isadmitted tothe motor; Fig. 3 a-longitudinal section along the line 33of- Fig. 1'; and Fig. 4 a view in elevation showing the fluid pressureactuating mechanism applied to an electric switch.

The general arrangement of the specific form of device illustrated inthe'drawings is bestl shownin Fig. 4, which shows an oil switch havingtwo oil pots l, containing stationary contacts which cooperate with amovable bridging Contact Q, mounted. on a vertically movable o eratingrod 3, which j. moves freelyy in aguide 4, rigidly attached 90 toandvformiug a (part of a fr ame 5, which is rigidly mounte in anyysuitable way in fixed relationto the oil pots l and supports thevarious; parts ofthe actuating mechanism.' In F ig. 4

closed position and constantly tends to open on. account of the pressure'exerted' by a resilient member, such as spiral s rin which surroundsthe operating ro an 1s compressed between the guide 4 and a collar 7 onthe operating rod when the switch is in An operating lever 8, pivotallyconnected to the upper end of theI position shown in Fig. 4 and heldagainst the strain exerted b the spring 6 by any suitable form of latoing mechanism, which is` preferably controlled automatically, so'

at every point in its 6 the switch is shown in the 95 rence of overload.In the specific form of latching mechanism shown in the drawings, a lug10 near the end of the operating lever 8 is engaged by a hook 11, whichholds the operating lever inthe position shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Thehook 11 is pivotally mounted on one end of a pivoted rockingl member 12which carries at the other end a Ashoulder 13 .arranged to engage thehook 11 and force it out of locking relation to the lug 10 as therocking member 12 rotates about its pivot into the position shown in Fig..1. The latching mechanism holds the operating lever 8 in switchclosing position as long as the rocking member 12 is held in theposition shown 1n Fig. 2, and in the preferred construction the rockingmember 12 is held in locking position by means of a locking toggle 14which has one end connected to the rocking member 12 and the other endto a pin on the frame 5. yThe locking toggle is normally slightlyoverset to hold the latching mechanism in latching position as shown inFig. 2 and is breken by means of a trip coil 15 connected in series inthe circuit and so arranged that upon the occurrence of an overload thecore of the trip coil .15 willfbreak the locking toggle 14 and permitthe parts to assume the position shown in Fig. 1.

In the specific embodiment'of my invention shown in the drawings, thecollapsible vessel is made in the form 4of aV fluid' pressure motor towhich fluid under pressure is supplied through a pipe 16 controlled byany suitable controlling valve 17. rl`he specifie form of collapsiblevessel consists of' a cup-shaped rigid wall or member 18 with a flaringportion 19 and a flexible diaphragm 20, ofrubber or any other suitableyielding material firmly secured to the edge of the cup-shaped member 18to form a closed vessel into which fluid under pressure may be admittedby means of the pipe 16. A rigid center member121 rests on the centralportion'of the flexible diaphragm .20 and-the movement of the diaphragmistransmitted to the operating lever 8 by means of an actuating rod 22secured to the center member 21 to engage a roller x23 which is mountedon the operating lever 8.

In order to make the travel of the center member 21 great enough to givethe required movement to the bridging contact of the switch, ,thediaphragm must be left unsupported and free to yield fora considerabledistance between the upper edge of the flaring portion 19 and the edgeof the rigid center member 21. Thegreatery the travel of the center,.thegreater must be the distance between the upper edge ofy the flaring fportion 19 and the edge of the'center'memer 21, and if the centermember` is given the required travel so much of the diaphragm is leftunsupported that a pressure of forty or fifty pounds cannot be usedWithout causing the vdiaphragm to bulge out between the edge of therigid center member 21 and the edge of the flaring portion 19 of thewall 18 to such an extent that it will be broken. Inaccordance with myinvention, the bulging and breaking of the diaphragm under the pressureof the fluid in the collapsible vessel is prevented by means ofdiaphragm supporting members or projections arranged in such a mannerthat in no position of the diaphragmlis enough of the diaphragm leftunsupported to permit bul in and breaking under pressure of the ui inthe collapsible vessel. The diaphragm supporting members are preferablymade in the form of rigid 4extensions or lugs 24 mounted on the centermember 21 to project outwardly like the teeth of a pinion and to extendbetween inwardly projecting lugs or extensions 25, which are formed onthe inner surface of a flange or ring 26 and extend inward like theteeth of an internal gear wheel. The inwardly nrojecting lugs fitbetween the outwardly projecting lugs as best shown in Fig. 3, andboth-sets of lugs are so shaped where they engage the diaphragm that thediaphragm is supported in all of its positions.

It will be seen in Fig. 3 that on both the flange 26 and on the centermember 21 the lugs or projections are so close together that thepressure in the vessel is unable to bulge and break the diaphragm byforcing it up between the lugs. In the specific arrangement shown in thedrawing, the rigid center member 21 is shaped to fit into the cupshapedrigid member'18 when the vessel is collapsed and the switch is open,with the phragm. Vid/'hen Huid is admitted beneath the diaphragm, thecenter member begins to rise and the' flexible portion of the diaphragmbegins to engage the lower edge of the projections 25 and vis supportedby them to an extent dependent upon the extent of movement of thediaphragm away from the wall 18. By the time tlierigid center member 21has completed about one-half of its travel, the diaphragm is practicallyfiat and .the flexible portion is supported partly by the projections 24and partly bythe projections 25, while as the center member 21 completesits travel` and reaches the positiony shown in Fig. 2, the flexibleportion of the diaphragm is supported entirely by the rigid orstationary projections 25. Since the inwardly extending lugs 25 areformed integral with the flange 26, and the rigid wall 18 is boltedfirmly to the frame 5, the lugs or projections 25 are immovablerelatively to the rigid wall 18 and do not yield under the! My.'nvention may be embodied in many other forms than that shown anddescribed and I do not intend to limit the appended claims to thespecific' arrangement disclosed,

but intend to cover all changes and modifications'within the spirit andscope of my invention. .Y

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is,-

l. A collapsible vessel comprising rigid walls and a flexible diaphragmsecured to .said walls, said walls having diaphragm supportingprojections rigidly mounted thereon ina position to engage and supportsaid diaphragm to an extent dependent on the extent o movement of thediaphragm relative to said walls. I

y The combination with a collapsible vessel comprising a circular walland a circular diaphragm secured to said wall to form a closed vessel,of diaphragm -supporting means carried by said wall yand arranged toengage said diaphragm to support an an.- nular portion of which theouter edge coincides with the outer edge' ofl said diaphragm and ofwhich the width increases as the diaphragm moves away from normalposition.

3. A collapsible vessel-com'prisinor a cupsliaped rigid member and aflexible diaphragm secured tothe edge of said member to form a kclosedvessel, said member having diaphragm v supporting means mountedthereonand arranged to successively engage and support said diaphragm atpoints which progressively increase in distance from the edge of thediaphragm the diaphragm is moved away from said member.

4. A collapsible vessel comprising a wall` having inwardly projectinglugs, a flexible diaphragm secured to said wall in a position to engagesaid lugs, and a member lin engagement with said diaphragm and having"outwardly projecting lugs which lie between the lugson saidwall.

Acollap'sible vessel comprising a iexible diaphragm, a wall secured Stothe edge wardly extending'lu of said diaphragm and having -a set ofinwhich project across a portion of said iaphragm toward the centerthereof, and a memberfin engagement with said -diaphragmand having-a setof lugs .whichextend away from the center of said diaphragm'and liesideby side `with the lu s on said'walhsaid. sets of lugs being shape tocoperate andl support said diaphragm in all` ositions thereof.

6. A colla s'i le vessel-comprising a cupshaped mem er having sidewalls, a flexible diaphragm secured` to rthe ed e of said walls to forma closed vessel, sai walls having inwardly extending lugs whichprojectover said diaphragm on one side thereof, and a .movable member inengagement with the same side of said diaphragm and shaped to tit intosaid cu -shapedmembelg said movable member being provided with'Youtwardly projecting lugs which extend between the lugs on saidcu-sh'aped member.

7. A collapsi le vessel comprising a wall lhavin a set ofinwardlyprojecting lugs, a

flexib e diaphragm secured'to said wall m a position to engage saidlugs, and a member l1n engagement with said diaphragm land provided withaset of outward y projecting lugs which lie between the lugs .on saidlwal the diaphragm engaging surfaces of one of said sets of lugs beingcurvedaway from a 'plane ,perpendicular to the .direction of movement ofthe diaphragm.

ff 8. A collapsible vessel comprising a ilexikble diaphragm, a.diaphragm supporting wall having lstationary 1u which project towardthe middle of said iaphragm, and a movable member resting on saiddiaphragm and havin lugs which extend between said` stationary ugs'in aradial direction, whereby said diaphragm is supported at every point ofits movement.

iIn witness vwhereof,'I have 'hereunto setf my hand this 17th day ofMarch, 1909.

y HARRY M. STEVENS.'

' Witnesses: I'

F. J. Donn, HnmaNnroaD.

